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• Past Symposia
  • November 3, 2023 – Education in America
    • Schedule
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  • November 11, 2022 – The Industrial Prison Complex System
    • Schedule
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  • October 8, 2021 – Conspiracy Theories, Disinformation, and Civil Rights
    • Schedule
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  • March 19, 2021 – Fighting White Supremacy in the 21st Century
    • Schedule
    • Speakers

Speakers

Ainslee S. Johnson-Brown

Ainslee S. Johnson-Brown, an Ohio native with a passion for local policy and advocacy work, serves as state policy and movement building director at Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equality. With a background in finance, research, strategy, and law, her superfecta of experience is bolstered by a desire to do the work where it count. She applies her background in data analytics to interpretations of Constitutional Law that supports policy recommendations that close gaps in equity. When she is not gliding through the weeds of legislation and regulations, she enjoys spending time with her wife and two Shiba Inus, Raekwon and Shaolin.

Evan Caminker

Evan Caminker is the Branch Rickey Professor and the former Dean of the University of Michigan Law School. He is a scholarly expert on a wide range of constitutional law issues. He also litigates or supports many pro bono cases concerning constitutional issues, recently including efforts to secure educational equity and access to literacy. Professor Caminker served as a law clerk to Justice William Brennan, Jr., on the U.S. Supreme Court, and he also served in the Department of Justice both as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Suzanne Eckes

Suzanne Eckes, J.D., Ph.D., is the Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy, and Practice at the University of Wisconsin School of Education. Much of her research focuses on how civil rights laws impact education policies in K-12 public schools. She has published widely on education law issues.

Nicolas Garon

Nicolas Garon specializes in researching the historical causes and societal implications of stringent immigration law and policies. His work primarily examines the impact of visa requirements on disadvantaged individuals and those disproportionately denied entry due to preemptive concerns. Through his articles, he strives to shed light on flawed assumptions underlying immigration-related anxieties and explore creative remedies.

Nicole Sunderlin

Nicole Sunderlin is a third-year law student at the University of Michigan Law School. She currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Her legal interests include children’s and students’ rights, which she pursues through her work as a student-attorney for Michigan Law’s Pediatric Advocacy Clinic and as a volunteer advocate for Michigan Law’s Student Rights Pro Bono Project. In the spring of 2023, Nicole worked at the United Nations Children’s Fund in Geneva, Switzerland, where she advocated for children’s rights on an international scale.

James Monty Truett

James M. “Monty” Truett has finished his second year of law school at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and is currently enrolled in the Flores MBA Program as a part of a four-year JD/MBA program at LSU. He currently serves as a Senior Associate for Volume 84 of the Louisiana Law Review. His legal interests include constitutional law, public policy legislation, and transactional law. Monty has a forthcoming publication in Vol. 84, Issue 2 of the Louisiana Law Review titled, “Congress, Tear Down this Educational Wall: The Biden Administration’s Unconstitutional Student Loan Cancellation Plan & Congress’ Responsibility to Address the Root Cause of the Student Loan Crisis.” He has also been published in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s student gallery journal relating to his research on homestead exemptions in the consumer bankruptcy context. In the summer of 2022, Monty served as a law clerk to U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s general counsel and legislative director in Washington, D.C.