Sherrilyn Ifill | |
---|---|
President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund | |
In office 2012–2022 | |
Preceded by | John Payton |
Succeeded by | Janai Nelson |
Personal details | |
Born | December 17, 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Relatives | Gwen Ifill (cousin) |
Education |
Vassar College (
BA) New York University ( JD) |
Sherrilyn Ifill (born December 17, 1962) is an American lawyer and the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights at Howard University. She is a law professor and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. [1] She was the Legal Defense Fund's seventh president since Thurgood Marshall founded the organization in 1940. Ifill is a nationally recognized expert on voting rights and judicial selection. [2] In 2021, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual Time 100 list.
Sherrilyn Ifill was born on December 17, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland [3] to Lester and Myrtle. She is the youngest of 10 children. [4] Her mother passed away when she was 6 years old. [4] She graduated from Hillcrest High School. [5] Ifill has a B.A. from Vassar College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. [1]
She and the late PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill were first cousins. Their family immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados, [6] with Sherrilyn's and Gwen's fathers, who were brothers, both becoming African Methodist Episcopal ministers. [7]
While in law school, Ifill interned for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. the first summer and at the United Nations Centre for Human Rights the second summer. [2] Her first job out of law school was a one-year fellowship with the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. [8] She then served as assistant counsel at the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, litigating Voting Rights Act cases including the landmark Houston Lawyers' Association v. Attorney General of Texas. [8] In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Maryland Law School, where she taught for two decades. [9] [10] She is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, [11] [12] a 2008 finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction. [13] In 2013, she became the Legal Defense Fund's president and director-counsel. [14] She is the Steven and Maureen Klinsky Visiting Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School, 2023-2024. [15]
Ifill regularly appears in the media for her expertise on topics like affirmative action, [16] [17] policing, [18] judicial nominees, [19] and the Supreme Court. [20] Ifill has announced that she will step down from the role of president and director-counsel in the spring of 2022, to be replaced by Janai Nelson, currently the associate director-counsel at LDF. [21] She joined the Ford Foundation as a Senior Fellow in June 2022. [22] Her writing appears in The New York Review of Books, Salon, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
In June 2023, Ifill was appointed Howard Law School's inaugural Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights. In 2024, she will launch the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy. [28] [29]
Ifill is married to Ivo Knobloch. [4] They have three children. [3]
In 2016, Ifill won the Society of American Law Teachers Great Teacher Award. [30]
Ifill was an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow in 2019. [31] In 2020, Glamour magazine gave her a Woman of the Year award, calling her a "civil rights superhero." [32] In 2021, Ifill was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. [33]
She was selected as the New York State Bar Association 2023 Gold Medal Award recipient, which cited her history as a "tireless warrior for civil rights". [34]
She was awarded the Brandeis Medal in 2023. [35] [36]
Sherrilyn Ifill | |
---|---|
President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund | |
In office 2012–2022 | |
Preceded by | John Payton |
Succeeded by | Janai Nelson |
Personal details | |
Born | December 17, 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Relatives | Gwen Ifill (cousin) |
Education |
Vassar College (
BA) New York University ( JD) |
Sherrilyn Ifill (born December 17, 1962) is an American lawyer and the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights at Howard University. She is a law professor and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. [1] She was the Legal Defense Fund's seventh president since Thurgood Marshall founded the organization in 1940. Ifill is a nationally recognized expert on voting rights and judicial selection. [2] In 2021, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual Time 100 list.
Sherrilyn Ifill was born on December 17, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland [3] to Lester and Myrtle. She is the youngest of 10 children. [4] Her mother passed away when she was 6 years old. [4] She graduated from Hillcrest High School. [5] Ifill has a B.A. from Vassar College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. [1]
She and the late PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill were first cousins. Their family immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados, [6] with Sherrilyn's and Gwen's fathers, who were brothers, both becoming African Methodist Episcopal ministers. [7]
While in law school, Ifill interned for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. the first summer and at the United Nations Centre for Human Rights the second summer. [2] Her first job out of law school was a one-year fellowship with the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. [8] She then served as assistant counsel at the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, litigating Voting Rights Act cases including the landmark Houston Lawyers' Association v. Attorney General of Texas. [8] In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Maryland Law School, where she taught for two decades. [9] [10] She is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, [11] [12] a 2008 finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction. [13] In 2013, she became the Legal Defense Fund's president and director-counsel. [14] She is the Steven and Maureen Klinsky Visiting Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School, 2023-2024. [15]
Ifill regularly appears in the media for her expertise on topics like affirmative action, [16] [17] policing, [18] judicial nominees, [19] and the Supreme Court. [20] Ifill has announced that she will step down from the role of president and director-counsel in the spring of 2022, to be replaced by Janai Nelson, currently the associate director-counsel at LDF. [21] She joined the Ford Foundation as a Senior Fellow in June 2022. [22] Her writing appears in The New York Review of Books, Salon, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
In June 2023, Ifill was appointed Howard Law School's inaugural Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights. In 2024, she will launch the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy. [28] [29]
Ifill is married to Ivo Knobloch. [4] They have three children. [3]
In 2016, Ifill won the Society of American Law Teachers Great Teacher Award. [30]
Ifill was an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow in 2019. [31] In 2020, Glamour magazine gave her a Woman of the Year award, calling her a "civil rights superhero." [32] In 2021, Ifill was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. [33]
She was selected as the New York State Bar Association 2023 Gold Medal Award recipient, which cited her history as a "tireless warrior for civil rights". [34]
She was awarded the Brandeis Medal in 2023. [35] [36]