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Peter Edelman

Georgetown University Law Center

Washington, DC, USA

Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy

Georgetown University Law Center
Peter Edelman

Biography

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

Peter has also 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 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 is the author of many articles on 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 been a United States-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, was the J. Skelly Wright Memorial Fellow at Yale Law School and has received numerous honors and awards for his work.

Peter Edelman’s Newsfeed

Journal of Poverty Law & Policy: Fulfilling Olmstead: Community Living for People with Disabilities

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 Edelman’s Background

Georgetown University Law Center logo Georgetown University Law Center logo
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 logo Georgetown Law, The Center on Poverty and Inequality logo
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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Current Non-Executive Positions

The Districrt of Columbia Access to Justice Commission logo The Districrt of Columbia Access to Justice Commission logo
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.
 
National Center for Youth Law logo National Center for Youth Law logo
Chair
Washington, DC, USA
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) is a non-profit law firm that helps low-income children achieve their potential, by transforming the public agencies that serve them.
 

Previous Non-Executive Positions

Center for Law and Social Policy logo Center for Law and Social Policy logo
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 Leadership U.S. - Japan Program logo The Leadership U.S. - Japan Program logo
Program Fellow
Washington, DC, USA
The purpose of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP) is to develop a network of communication, friendship & understanding among the next generation of leaders in each country. 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 logo RFK / Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights logo
Board Member
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. Working alongside local activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations, the RFK team includes leading attorneys, advocates, entrepreneurs and writers united by a commitment to social justice.
 
Center for American Progress Action Fund logo Center for American Progress Action Fund logo
Board Member
Jan 1990 - Present
Washington, DC, USA
The Center for American Progress Action Fund is an independent, non-partisan policy institute and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action.
 

Publications

Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America logo Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America logo
Author
Jul 2019 - Present
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.”
 
So Rich, So Poor | Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America logo So Rich, So Poor | Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America logo
Author
Jan 2012 - Present
Peter Edelman's book explains that if the nation’s gross national income of over $14 trillion were divided evenly across the entire U.S. population, every household could call itself middle class. Yet the income-level disparity in this country is now wider than at any point since the Great Depression.
 
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