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Peter Edelman

Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy

Georgetown University Law Center

Washington, DC, USA


Peter Edelman
James Dunning, Jr
The Dunning Group Inc
Isabella Egerton
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Peter’s Biography

Peter Edelman teaches constitutional law and poverty law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy and the Faculty Director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Previously, Peter has served in all three branches of government. During President Clinton's first term, he was Counsellor to HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation. He has held numerous legislative positions, including serving as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was also a Law Clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General John Douglas.

Author of several books, his most recent is titled "Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of America". He has written many articles regarding topics including poverty, constitutional law, and issues pertaining to children and youth. His article in the Atlantic Monthly, titled "The Worst Thing Bill Clinton Has Done," received the Harry...
Peter Edelman teaches constitutional law and poverty law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy and the Faculty Director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Previously, Peter has served in all three branches of government. During President Clinton's first term, he was Counsellor to HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation. He has held numerous legislative positions, including serving as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was also a Law Clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General John Douglas.

Author of several books, his most recent is titled "Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of America". He has written many articles regarding topics including poverty, constitutional law, and issues pertaining to children and youth. His article in the Atlantic Monthly, titled "The Worst Thing Bill Clinton Has Done," received the Harry Chapin Media Award. Peter has chaired and served as a Board Member of many organizations and foundations and is currently Chair of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission and the National Center for Youth Law. Formerly, he was Board Chair of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and the Public Welfare Foundation, Board President Emeritus of the New Israel Fund, and a board member of the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Center for American Progress Action Fund and a half dozen other nonprofit organizations.

He has ben recognized with many honors and awards for his work, and he has been a United States-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, was the J. Skelly Wright Memorial Fellow at Yale Law School.
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Peter’s Newsfeed

The DC Line
The high cost of cutting funding for civil legal services

Peter Edelman and James Sandman discuss the importance of restoring funding to the Access to Justice Initiative in Washington, D.C.

The Hill
The child tax credit is alive for now — let’s keep it that way

Citing the widening gap between America’s rich and poor over the past 25 years, Kerry Kennedy and Peter Edelman outline the importance of the Child Tax Credit for low-income children and families.

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Peter’s Background

Georgetown University Law Center
Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy
1982 - Present
Washington, DC, USA
Peter teaches constitutional law and poverty law at Georgetown University Law Center, the second largest law school in the United States.
 
Georgetown Law, The Center on Poverty and Inequality
Faculty Director
1982 - Present
Washington, DC, USA
Georgetown University's Law School is the second largest law school in the United States.
 
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Peter’s Gallery

Board Positions

Center for American Progress Action Fund
Trustee | Advisory Board
Jan 1990 - Present
Washington, DC, USA
The Center for American Progress Action Fund is an independent, non-partisan policy institute and advocacy organization that works to improve all American lives by creating bold, progressive ideas and promoting strong leadership and concerted action.
 
The Districrt of Columbia Access to Justice Commission
Foundation Board President & Chair
Washington, DC, USA
The DC Access to Justice Commission seeks to increase significantly the resources for civil legal services, reduce barriers that prevent equal access to justice by low and moderate income residents, advocate for increased pro bono work by local attorneys & improve planning and coordination of legal services delivery.
 
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Previous Board Positions

Center for Law and Social Policy
Board Member
Washington, DC, USA
Center for Law and Social Policy, CLASP, is a national non-partisan anti-poverty non-profit, advancing policy solutions for low income people. They develop practical and visionary strategies for reducing poverty, addressing barriers faced by people of color and promoting economic opportunity.
 
The US-Japan Leadership Program
Program Fellow
Washington, DC, USA
The purpose of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) is to promote an international network of leaders for the next generation. The relationship between two of the world’s most powerful democracies and economies has become so complex and broad-ranging , that it is beyond the ability of governments or specialists to manage.
 
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Philanthropy

RFK / Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Board of Directors
New York, NY, USA
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, founded in 1968, is led by human rights activist and lawyer Kerry Kennedy and advocates for a more just and peaceful world. The RFK team works alongside local activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations.
 

Media

“Youth Opportunity Guarantee” Critical for U.S., Center on Poverty and Inequality Says
Feb 2020
Washington, DC, USA
"The status quo is not working for young people," the Center on Poverty and Inequality's faculty director, Professor Peter Edelman, told assembled advocates, policymakers and students at a recent event on campus. “We’ve made progress, but it’s not sufficient.”
 

Interviews

How The Pandemic Is Challenging Our Understanding Of Poverty
Mar 2021
Peter Edelman joins Under the Radar to speak on the state of America’s impoverished population and how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the social landscape of the poverty line for Americans.
 
Georgetown Now: Peter Edelman
Feb 2021
Washington, DC, USA
Peter Edelman joins John J. DeGioia, President of Georgetown University, to discuss his commitment to reducing poverty, a cause he has advocated for throughout his career both in and out of government.
 
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Publications

It's time to make these expanded tax credits permanent
Co-author
Jul 2021
Peter Edelman and Senator Sherrod Brown share their thoughts on making expanded tax credits permanent. They argue that “Even before the pandemic, hard work wasn't paying off for many workers. In recent decades, the cost of living has only gone up, leaving families, especially families with children, strapped for cash and living paycheck-to-paycheck.”
 
Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America
Author
Winner of a special Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. Former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes, “If there is one essential book on the great tragedy of poverty and inequality in America, this is it.”
 
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Speaking Engagements

Fordham University Feerick Center for Social Justice Luncheon Speaker Series
Featured Speaker
Feb 2020
New York, NY, USA
Professor Peter B. Edelman was the featured speaker at the Feerick Center for Social Justice Luncheon Speaker Series event titled "Criminalization of Poverty: Three Intertwined Crises".
 
Journal of Poverty Law & Policy: Fulfilling Olmstead: Community Living for People with Disabilities
Speaker
Nov 2019
Washington, DC, USA
Respecting persons with disabilities, “There is still [so much] to do in so many ways,” said Professor Peter Edelman, speaking at the Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy’s Volume 27 Symposium on November 1: “Fulfilling Olmstead: Community Living for People with Disabilities.”
 
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Peter’s Education