American Constitution Society Welcomes Four New Board Members

Washington, D.C. — The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is pleased to announce the election of four new members to its Board of Directors:

• Garrett Epps, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and Supreme Court Correspondent at The Atlantic.
• Holly Fechner, partner at Covington, co-chair of the firm’s Technology Industry group, and Visiting Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
• Neil Siegel, David W. Ichel Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Duke University School of Law and Director of the school’s D.C. Summer Institute on Law and Policy.
• Franita Tolson, Professor of Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

“I’m thrilled and honored to be welcoming four new, distinguished leaders to the ACS Board,” said ACS President Caroline Fredrickson. “All four have made immense contributions to the field of law and I know their wisdom and guidance will greatly benefit the ACS network of lawyer and student chapters and our mission.”

Garrett Epps is a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he teaches courses in constitutional law, First Amendment law, and fiction and non-fiction writing for law students. Additionally, he is the Supreme Court Correspondent and a contributing editor at The Atlantic.

Epps has been an active contributor to ACS, since shortly after its founding. He was featured as a speaker at its National Convention and is a regular contributor to the organization’s other policy events, seminars, and discussions.

Previously, Epps was the Orlando J. and Marian H. Hollins Professor of Law at the University of Oregon. He co-founded the Richmond Mercury, served as a columnist for the Independent Weekly, and worked as an editor and reporter at the Richmond Afro-American, Washington Post, The Free Lance-Star, and The Virginia Churchman.

Epps clerked for the Honorable John D. Butzner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He earned his B.A. from Harvard College, where he was Editor of The Harvard Crimson, and his M.A. in creative writing from Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. Additionally, Epps holds a J.D. and a LL.M. in Comparative and International Law from Duke University School of Law.

Holly Fechner is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, co-chair of the firm’s Technology Industry group, and Visiting Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she teaches a course on labor and employment policy. Fechner has been an active member of ACS for more than a decade.

Fechner served as Policy Director for the late Senator Edward Kennedy and as Chief Labor and Pensions Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where she led the Senator's efforts to raise the federal minimum wage and drafted the first paid sick leave legislation. Fechner also worked as Legislative Counsel for the AFL-CIO and as an attorney for the National Partnership for Women & Families. In 2010, former Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Fechner to the Maryland Higher Education Labor Relations Board, an independent administrative agency that enforces the state’s collective bargaining law for higher education employees.

Fechner clerked for the Honorable John Feikens of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She earned her B.A. from Oberlin College and J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Neil Siegel is the David W. Ichel Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Duke University School of Law and Director of the school’s D.C. Summer Institute on Law and Policy.

Siegel has been active with ACS for more than a decade, including as a speaker at its National Convention and chapter events. He serves on the organization’s Board of Academic Advisors and as the faculty Advisor for its Student Chapter at Duke University School of Law.

Siegel researches and teaches in the areas of U.S. constitutional law, constitutional politics, and constitutional theory, and has published work in law reviews and journals across the country. Additionally, he served as special counsel to U.S. Senator Christopher Coons during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and advised the Senator during Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing the prior year.

Siegel clerked for both Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and was a Bristow Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice, under Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson. He earned his B.A. and M.A. from Duke University and holds a J.D. and Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Franita Tolson is a Professor of Law at University of Southern California Gould School of Law and an expert in the areas of election law, constitutional law, legal history, and employment discrimination. Tolson is an active member of ACS and has demonstrated a deep commitment to its amplifying its network beyond the national nonprofit’s West Coast affiliates.

Previously, Tolson was the Betty T. Ferguson Professor of Voting Rights at Florida State University College of Law and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Law. Tolson’s research has been featured in the nation’s leading law reviews, including The Notre Dame Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Boston University Law Review, and Vanderbilt Law Review, and she has served as a contributor and issue expert for various media organizations, including Reuters, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, and HuffPost.

Tolson clerked for both the Honorable Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Chief Judge Ruben Castillo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She earned her B.A. from Truman State University and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

American Constitution Society

Founded in 2001, the American Constitution Society (ACS) is a leading progressive legal organization and a rapidly growing network of attorneys, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers, and other concerned individuals, dedicated to making the law a force to improve people’s lives.

For more information about the organization or its 200+ attorney and law student chapters in 48 states, visit www.acslaw.org or find us on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.